Like other veterinary clinics in Wisconsin, the Animal Hospital of Ashwaubenon has been getting phone calls from dog owners concerned about the recent outbreak of canine influenza in the Midwest.

"Keep your dog home and stay away from dog parks. That's what we're telling people," said Dr. Terry Barker, who has been practicing at the Animal Hospital for 33 years and also has a degree in microbiology. "Don't travel (with your dog) to Chicago, and there have been a couple of cases in Madison."

The University of Wisconsin-Madison's School of Veterinary Medicine says the virus has sickened at least 1,000 dogs in Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana. Recent tests from the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory have identified the strain as H3N2. Clinical assistant professor Keith Poulsen says it's not yet known how effective current vaccines are against this strain, which is believed to have come from Asia.

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Manager Chris Swisse interacts with dogs at the First Class Pet Lodge on Tuesday in Wausau. A canine flu outbreak has sickened many dogs in the Midwest, and veterinarians are cautioning pet owners to keep their dogs from going nose-to-nose with other four-legged friends.(Photo: Dan Young/Gannett Wisconsin Media)

The Animal Hospital of Ashwaubenon sent an email to its clients advising them to avoid traveling with their dogs to areas where the virus has been reported. Like human flu in people, it can be easily transmitted.

"The big thing with dogs is sharing a water bowl, like going to the dog park if we have those water bowls set out, where if one dog drinks from it every other dog that drinks from it is going to be exposed then," Barker said. "The same thing with humans. If you give a treat to a dog and that dog licks your hand and you go to the next dog, it could easily pick it up from you."

The UW School of Veterinary Medicine advises people who work with or are exposed to sick dogs to wash their hands and change their clothes. Soap and water are effective in eliminating the virus.

There is no evidence that it is contagious to humans.

Canine influenza causes low-grade fever, coughing and nasal discharge in dogs for three to five days. In a normal, healthy dog it is usually a mild infection, and some owners might not even realize their animal has it, Barker said. But stressed animals with a compromised immune system as well as very young or old dogs are more at risk. A small number of dogs can get secondary bacterial pneumonia and require hospitalization, he said. Some dogs have died.

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Dogs drink water from a hose Tuesday at the First Class Pet Lodge in Wausau.(Photo: Dan Young/Gannett Wisconsin Media)

The current strain of the dog flu is different from the original H3N8 first detected in Florida about 10 years ago, Barker said. It's believed that one mutated from a horse virus at a race track that had both horses and greyhounds. The strain in Chicago, Barker said, had only been found in Asia previously and may have come to the United States when someone imported a dog.

"This (H3N2) strain seems to be a little more ... virulent virus and a little more infectious than the old one," Barker said. "The problem is we have a vaccine for the old one, but at least two experts I've read are saying, a lot like the human strains, it may not protect.

"The other problem is trying to get a hold of the vaccine right now. We're having problems getting the vaccine, because it's being snatched up by people all over the nation all of a sudden because of this."

Barker said researchers in China have determined the new strain of canine flu can also affect cats but have not yet determined to what extent. That raises concerns for households that have a dog sick with the flu and also have cats.

News of the canine flu has pet owners and businesses across Wisconsin on alert.

Luanne Moede, owner of First Class Pet Lodge in Wausau, is "trying to be careful and cautious," she said. "My clients are being asked if they travel out of the area (with their dogs). ... Everyone who comes through that door is being informed (about dog flu)."

Renee Brantner Shanesy, who owns the Ruffin' It Resort in Madison, hasn't seen panic among dog owners, but the kennel is increasing its sanitizing practices. She had her two dogs vaccinated and has cut out trips to the dog park to reduce the risk of exposure.

"Like any other pet owner right now, I'm not 100 percent comfortable," Shanesy said. "Anything I can do to give them a better chance of immunity, I'm in."

Barker understands that it's human nature for pet owners to be worried about a new disease, but he said he's more concerned about issues more common to dogs in Northeastern Wisconsin, like heartworm and Lyme disease.

"If I was going to worry about something, I'd be a lot more worried about leptospirosis. It's something we do see, and it kills thousands of dogs a year instead of the few that this outbreak has killed. And there's a vaccine for it."

Leptospirosis is a bacterial disease of dogs that can destroy their kidneys.

Barker urges caution and smart choices to local dog owners regarding the canine flu but also offers some perspective.

"Again, it's not here. I think that's the biggest thing to tell people. It's not in this area right now,'' he said. "We're just advising people to not travel to those areas, and hopefully those people won't travel to our area with infected dogs, and three to four weeks with nobody taking their dogs anywhere, it will probably die out."

— kmeinert@pressgazettemedia.com and follow her on Twitter @KendraMeinert.